i had a meatball last night that was so freakin' good i almost passed out.

no it wasn't mine. i have to be honest (and immodest), i'm a firm believer that there isn't a meatball this side of the colorado river that holds a candle to my homemade veal & ricotta meatballs. cocky? yes. accurate, i do believe. and now i will eat a heaping serving of humble pie. last night, sitting with great friends and my favorite 50 year old brother sipping frosty cocktails at Redd Wood in YOUNTVILLE, CA (also home to French Laundry and only the most relaxing vibe i have experienced in, oh, EVER), i almost passed out from the sheer fabulousity (yes, that's a word) of a bowl of meatballs and some crusty Thomas Keller bread from Bouchon. it took everything in me to stop at the fourth ball. sheer willpower. i'm regretting it now event as i type.

they were clearly made that morning, softly assembled with just the right balance of salty parmesan, a dollop of ricotta and most likely some breadcrumbs which i would guess to be direct descendants of those loaves of Bouchon bread. sweet JESUS if i could have smuggled an extra order on the plane home today i would have. oh my god i love my job. love. love. LOVE it. while off on a quick three day trip to Cali to surprise my big brother on his birthday-palooza, i got to eat and drink some of the most ridiculously delicious food and write it off as work. "work." BAH!! suckers. do they know how easy it is to get up and got to work when part of the job description is ordering the chopped salad with mini diced salami & provolone, briney olives & the most delicate of lemon vinaigrettes? oh, my god how all that hard work at a college i hated paid off when i got to use it to open catchy.!! do what you love folks - there is little better in this life. well, except those meatballs. yeah, those were better.

so all this mad-traipsing around greater san francisco, yountville and napa valley all weekend (sans kids, it just had to be said, so you could fully understand how FREAKIN' GOOD my weekend was) helped firm up the already OUTSTANDING vibe we are about to grenade all over you folks next tuesday at catchy. NEW MENU. stop. no i can't stop. NEW OUTDOOR PATIO vibe. you are lying. i don't lie. it's gonna be insane. new tables, new chairs, new umbrellas, lush greenery in new planters with six new salads (including a build your own option, what!?!), a new bowl with three grains and four new sandwich options that will blow your frickin' MINDDDDD. so pick out that bottle of rose, make a date for next week (new menu launches the tuesday after labor day) and get ready to love catchy. even more than you guys already do.